Good Morning
Not too long ago we were in a deep crisis in this aviation sector. We were badly battered in Covid-19, lives and livelihoods were at a brink of loss. Morale, as I saw many of you, were not just demoralised, anxious and frightened.
I spoke to Leslie and Chee Keong just now from Scoot just now. I recall in the early part of Covid when I visited the crew going to Wuhan to bring Singaporeans back, the thin anxiety. Out of that crisis, I’m glad today that we are emerging stronger, literally.
Out of Covid, when I interacted with CEOs, union leaders, we were able to forge in that crisis, deep trust. Whether it is job support scheme across the whole of aviation and aerospace industry to help the companies survive through Covid, to put jobs, fodo on the table for our workers. all these were fundamental to the trust that we have forged today.
On top of that, together with CAAS and government agencies, we were able to build foundational capabilities, in spite of Covid. I’m glad we did, now that we are out of that crisis, we are better poised to seize new opportunities, if we can come together to take collection action.
Why? Well, today, international passenger traffic has already almost returned to pre-Covid-19 levels. Cargo business is doing well. Global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) businesses have refounded, and we are on the cusp of coming back into the projections of IATA in the times before Covid.
Passenger traffic, if our estimates are correct, are projected to double by 2040. Our aerospace MRO business will increase slightly by 33% by 2033, and cargo is thriving.
If you have that kind of projections, I'm glad that during my time that I was in Ministry of Transport (MOT), we decided that we will have a Terminal 5 (T5). T5 will allow us up to 50 million passengers per year, more than Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 combined today.
So in the aviation industry, out of the deep crisis, we are now on the horizon and there are great possibilities!
Can I ask in my very short speech to you today - what would you do? Whether you are a union leader nudging workers to upgrade, whether you are CEO taking these institutional perspectives to upgrade your companies or workers, what will we do collectively?
And can I just leave you with one thought, if you cannot remember all the things I say today. One thought - let's take action together. Take Action.
At the individual level, can I urge all of you, regardless of whether you are CEO or union leader on the ground, take action to upgrade ourselves if you are in the business strategy. That's the agility of mind, the humility that we can do better.
Upgrade ourselves at the individual level to look at better strategies. Upgrade ourselves to look at how we can exploit emerging technologies in all areas of our work.
If you are a union leader, upgrade yourself in deep specialization so that you can be more relevant in the aviation industry.
I have no doubt that aviation will continue on upward trajectory, plus minus whatever short term impact. As individuals, if I engineer, what would you do to exploit Robotic Process Automation (RPA) possibilities, Industry 4.0 technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) that we can move forward in the productivity of an individual and if you are a union, how can you also encourage workers to enhance their thinking, adaptiveness and productivity.
As individuals, can I ask sisters and brothers to take action. Make use of all the things that Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong has mentioned in his National Day Rally about all the different opportunities.
Beyond the individual level, can I ask at the company or institutional level, can we combine our synergies that we can take action together, whether you are a ground handling company like SATS or dnata, how can you work with NTUC and our unions to put forth institutional programmes that will benefit your business and our workers.
For example, SATS, before Kerry became CEO, I really was deeply involved with SATS, and we have a good relation. I met him over lunch, discuss about different things, and we decided to hold hands in his business strategy that he briefed me and some of the suggestions that I made for.
Today, I'm glad that SATS at the company level is embarking on projects with our Company Training Committee, utilizing a CTC Grant that will help his cash flow, not that he needs it today, in the past, maybe. He's doing very well in leading the company.
With the CTC Grant, they are launching to solve issues that are permeating our airport. Customer Service Agent Plus, essentially looking at upgrading Customer Service Agents to do supervisory roles in the complexities of a small city operations where people may need wheelchair.
All the different complexities with technology, process automation, I hope that the project would land productively gains to SATS as a company and to my workers for better life.
On top of that, as an aging population and aging travels coming to Singapore, the mobility asset checking system will help with the allocation and the management of assets to enhance the productivity and the flow as well. I hope that at the institutional level, NTUC can be further alongside SATS to move such phases.
For other companies that have been mentioned, how can you come onboard the Company Training Committees (CTCs) and make the CTCs come alive, not just as something that is signed as an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), but take action together with NTUC. If you need a CTC Grant, come into ecosystem to move possibilities for your own company's productivity gain and for our workers’ livelihood.
For the union leaders, if you have not heard about our CTC Grant, our CTCs are making a difference to your livelihoods. In the past one and a half years or so, our Company Training Committees have gone up to about 2300 and importantly, the quality that we put into the companies are bearing real returns for you, in terms of better wages or better work prospects. On the average, with 100 million Grant that the Government entrusted us to do, on the average workers are gathering 5% average wage increases, above their normal annual increment (AI). In circumstances where wages cannot be directly measured, companies are redesigning jobs, upgrading work prospects in the longer term.
For our leaders here, it is not just supporting the company for better business, but in your own interest as well. We can do better for our workers. Let’s hold hands institutionally, at a company level, for us to move forward.
Well, it applies to the government as well. CAAS is here. I have a long association with CAAS, my friends there. I just spoke to the air traffic controllers.
While artificial intelligence 10 years ago may not be good enough for us to entrust sequencing of air traffic because of safety factors to trust the technology. But can we keep the agility of mind? Relook at new artificial intelligence to see whether we can further streamline our very congested air hub.
From the air hub all the way to ground handling, if we can come together and forge on my main point about the trust that we have done and the foundational capabilities, then Changi would not only be a world class airport, but Changi will be the air hub that will bring many opportunities and greater economic growth for us to benefit as a country and, of course, as an ecosystem in the aviation and aerospace cluster.
Take action individually and adopt an adaptive mindset. Be humble, go out and get something done and not just say that, wow, I have all these SkillsFuture credit, but I'm not using them.
Take action as leaders, either as come at the company or the union level, to see how we can forge better projects to upgrade company possibilities, likewise for the workers.
NTUC is also taking action to innovate further. Taking action at the ecosystem level, as I mentioned to you earlier. At the ecosystem level, NTUC is trying out a new concept called Cluster Training Committees. Basically, looking at the whole aviation and aerospace, we are trying to find out who may be the queen bees that we can work with and impact companies that are suppliers or ecosystem of a larger company, like ST Engineering.
We have been working with Vincent Chong to see how the many suppliers, up to 10,000 of them, how we can work with ST, as the queen bee, to impact at the worker level, at the company, leveraging ST’s network so that we can build cluster capabilities for ST.
In the company, if you can have better suppliers, can you continue with a-just-in-time business model with quality assurance, with all the different timeliness that you need in your place. I hope the answer will be yes, if all the ecosystem you can come in and put in all the different processes, to really see how we can, not just now optimize at a company level, but in Singapore that clusters so that we can fight better for economic pie.
For the workers, it's clear that if you have a cluster possibility in job matching possibilities within the ecosystem, by what OneAviation Career Hub has done for you, then workers will also benefit with the ability to move around in the ecosystem and find the best job fit for you and the job progress for you.
And I know the HR professionals here will be thinking that's no good for me, but I'll try to convince you otherwise, because if I cluster HR potentially in the future, there'll be better flow of human expertise, better sharing. And as an ecosystem, you will build capabilities and strengthen Singapore, with much more disciplined workforce, more agile workforce, and forward leaning workforce in the ecosystem of the aviation and aerospace cluster.
I emphasize that if you do not remember anything, simply remember that what I ask you to do is to take action. In the space of a very, very strong, robust rebound, the review of the projections of a very vibrant air hub aerospace and aviation industry.
Take Action individually, upgrade ourselves so that you are better.
Upgrade ourselves as companies or institutions, together with the Labour Movement, and take action as an ecosystem - how we can maximize our possibilities to ensure that our air hub is successful one. Companies in the air hub to have good business and workers that are joining the aviation and aerospace industry will always do well, and ultimately as an economic driver, the Changi air hub will continue to deliver, as CAAS told me many years ago when they argued for T5. I remember those numbers, and I'm convinced that we have those opportunities.
So brothers and sisters, I wish you all a very good symposium. In all the things that you are discussing, I urge you to bring your idea, your ideation, into your workplace and not just leave it in this hotel after days of discussion.
Whatever ideas, let's dream, dare and do. Take action to bring our dreams to reality, take action to make your lives better. Take action as fellow Singaporeans to chart a better future for all.
Thank you very much.
